Editorial: Better safe than sorry when harsh weather hits

The recent winter storms that struck Acadiana with a one-two punch shut down businesses, schools, bridges and sections of some highways.

Now that it's over, it's natural to wonder whether officials overreacted to the situation.

The answer can be summed up in one word: Atlanta.

Georgia highways became frozen parking lots for hundreds of thousands who were forced to sleep in their cars or seek shelter at the few businesses that remained open. Thousands of children were stranded at their schools, while undoubtedly frantic parents worried at home - or wherever they may have been stranded.

Having to decide when it's time to act - especially in such an unfamiliar situation for southerners is a tough call. Unfortunately for many Georgia citizens, the decision came too late.

Louisiana residents were more fortunate. Officials heeded the lesson learned from decades of hurricane preparation: Better safe than sorry.

Gov. Bobby Jindal rightly declared a state of emergency, which not only helped to keep citizens out of harm's way, but may help the state receive some federal funding to help offset the cost of the storm, which may reach into the hundreds of millions.

In Lafayette Parish, City-Parish President Joey Durel also made the right call before road conditions deteriorated too much for people to get safely home.

Superintendent Pat Cooper also made good decisions about when to close Lafayette Parish schools, avoiding the problem of trying to get kids home on dangerous roads and making sure the problems Georgia school children faced did not happen here.

In the South, these kinds of storms don't come along very often. There are freezing temperatures a few times each year - some dipping into the 20s. Everyone knows what to do. Cover pipes, take pets indoors and drip faucets. Within a day or so, temperatures are back to what we consider normal.

But this time, it was different. It was the kind of winter storm that strikes Acadiana only every decade or so. But weather experts have predicted there may be more ice storms to come in Acadiana before winter ends.

Have local and state officials learned anything from the two recent ice storms that will help in the future? Could officials prepare in advance and respond earlier?

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development is always preparing for weather emergencies, said a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.

As they monitored each winter storm's approach, they were in constant contact with law enforcement agencies and state agencies, as well as the National Weather Service.

In advance of the storms, DOTD was busy stockpiling 3.8 million pounds of salt fromn Cargill's salt resources in Iberia Parish. They also had 28,000 gallons of liquid de-icer on hand and acquired 38,000 gallons more.

Much of the response was a matter of timing, she said. If the liquid de-icer was deployed too early, there might not be enough to last through the storm, if it had lingered more than two days.

LCG Chief Administrative Officer Dee Stanley said salt was distributed on key Lafayette Parish bridges, but it couldn't be done too early, because as long as the precipitation was not freezing, it would have washed the salt away.

The priority was to keep bridges on major roads open for emergency vehicles and to urge everyone else to avoid the slippery streets of Acadiana.

Some situations called for ingenuity on the part of officials and road crews. Stanley said crews used seed spreaders from Chastant Bros. to distribute salt on frozen roadways.

As we go back to normal winter routines of wearing sweaters and light jackets, we should remember, as we do during hurricane season, that it could happen again with little warning. Citizens remember to be prepared by keeping pipes wrapped and faucet covers handy - and maybe invest in a windshield scraper.

We also ask our officials continue to be prepared to respond again with the kind of decisiveness that kept these major weather events from becoming disasters.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Email this article

Editorial: Better safe than sorry when harsh weather hits

The recent winter storms that struck Acadiana with a one-two punch shut down businesses, schools, bridges and sections of some highways.